Leaders Index 1-3-18

The market continued its rally in the new year. The major averages opened higher and rallied throughout the session, with all of them closing at their intraday trading highs. This shows there was buying support during the trading session. The Nasd averages again led with the COMPQ and the NDX gaining .84% and .99% respectively. The SPX rallied a solid .64%. The greatest strength was again in the semiconductor stocks with the SOX higher by 1.72%. The small caps were also strong as the RUT gained 1.11%. Volume was mixed, higher on the Nasd and slightly lower on the New York. It is good to see higher volume with the greatest strength. Leading stocks also did well with the leaders index gaining .49% and closing in the upper half of its trading range. This was a new high on both a closing and an intraday basis. The positive action continued today with good gains across the board. All the major averages made new all-time highs today along with the leaders index. The leadership again remained with the Nasd and tech related stocks. The outperformance of the NDX shows that big cap techs were again leading the way and we continued to see fresh breakouts and pocket pivots. This is very positive action and it looks like the market wants to head higher. Jerry